SE Asía 2025 – Fri 14/11 – day 08

Tourism is a relatively late industry here, and consequently as yet there is no cruise terminal. Instead we’re parked up amongst the containers in a fairly large port. Personally I’d rather it was this way, it is fascinating watching industry and commerce at work!

Our friend Rosemary’s seminal work on this subject is worth a read if you are interested – here’s a quick link to Amazon – http://bit.ly/4nXnGmw

Today we have again booked a tour but the pressure is a little reduced so we get breakfast in our lounge first then wait in the theatre to be called. There are a lot of busses, talking folks all around Đà Nẵng and further afield. For our American cousins today is very special as a lot of their war here was played out nearby. 

Our tour guide tells us Đà Nẵng was a dump thirty years ago, and has gone through a rapid change since then, and that it is Utopia now, with no crime, no traffic jams, no homelessness and so on. Within minutes we’re sat in a traffic jam looking at makeshift tents on the beach, but her sentiment and enthusiasm makes us see the positive regardless. 

We drive from Đà Nẵng along the beach for 30 kilometres until we reach Hội An, the ancient town now a UNESCO World Heritage site which has been an important trading post since C15 although its history goes back much further.

Since 1601 there has been both Chinese and Japanese settlements alongside the Viet people, later we will walk across the bridge that joins the two areas. We start in the marketplace, which is half fruit, veg and meat and half tourist stuff. 

Then we walk into the old town area which is littered with small shops, nowadays many of them tailors or leather workers- an entire new wardrobe can be had in 24 hours! There are numerous cultural stops too, now museums, temples and examples of traditional houses. 

After our an hour of intensive viewing we have an hour to wander, and head away from the more populous parts, cross the river and find some quieter parts. We cross back and buy grapes, lychees and rambutans from a couple of old ladies. They are somewhat mischievous with their pricing and we probably pay more than we could have but the fruit is gorgeous. Sadly a missed photo opportunity!

Next is lunch at a riverside catering establishment, very much more organised that on the previous two days, we enjoy a huge selection of choices. 

The area is quite famous for its marble, and we are taken to a very interesting stonemasons, of course they hope someone will buy, and it’s quite tempting, but we enjoy looking just as much. The vase will cost you $9000 including shipping anywhere, so it’s not too bad really. 

We drive back up the coast which I later learn from a fellow traveller is Chinese Beach, famously where the GIs went for R&R before returning to the war. Very little remains beyond a few Anderson shelters where the helicopter port was built. Nowadays it is a long run of half developed hotels, and a few that are completed. Names are mostly recognisable but check one photo in particular. 

From the beach we can see a white statue across the bay, this is our final stop. This Lady Buddha is the tallest in Viet Nam and she stands 65m tall. The accompanying myth is so implausible it should be turned into an opera! 

Our return home is quick although we get an extra detailed dock tour when we get lost. The setting sun provides a great view 

It’s the first night of Pinnacle Grill so we’re not prepared to watch the show through, just the first 25 minutes  of an Irish singer and her husband, we don’t make it back for the end. 

Dinner is a collection of some of our favourites, Cæsar salad and crab cakes; rib eye; key lime pie and crème brûlée. All perfect!!